Dutch Herring

Ingredients

Herring 2

Onions 2

Lemon 1/2

Sugar 6 tsp

Carrot 1

Bay leaf 10

Black peppercorns 10

So, we went to the market, got a beautiful, fat herring, and slowly defrosted it on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator overnight. Now it needs to be gutted. Cut off the head and gills. Cut down the belly to the tail and clean out the insides with a knife. Then make a shallow longitudinal cut on the back (just enough to cut the skin) and, carefully lifting the edges of the skin, slowly and carefully peel it from head to tail. First on one side, then on the other. Make sure no pieces of meat come off along with the skin. Remove the fins (they come out easily after the skin is removed). Cut off the tail.

 By this point, we're covered in dirt up to our elbows and no longer afraid of anything, so we can remove the backbone without any problem. To do this, use a knife to lift the dark membrane lining the belly and separate it from the meat, along with the backbones. Turn the herring over and separate it into two halves from the back.

Now completely remove the backbone, clean the fillet of any remaining ribs and other small bones. Cut the fillet into pieces approximately 2 cm wide.

Slice the lemon into thin slices, grate the carrots on a coarse grater, and cut the onion into rings. Layer this beauty in a jar: a few onion rings on the bottom, a bay leaf, a pinch of carrot, a slice of lemon, half a teaspoon of sugar, and a pinch of pepper. Top with a layer of herring. Then—plant-sugar again.

On the second or third day, open the jar, try it, and die of delight. Herring prepared this way is tender, sweet, juicy, and very, very tasty. When serving, drizzle with vegetable oil and lightly salt.

Enjoy!